A Visit from the Christmas Dhampir
by Kirabaros
Summary: Christmas is here and friends are drawing near. After dealing with the pagan gods, Sam and Dean get a little Christmas surprise from someone who decides to have a little fun with a familiar poem. Twas a night before Christmas in a motel in Michigan and well you know the rest...


**A Visit from the Christmas Dhampir**

It was a fairly good Christmas even if they had spent it chasing down a pair of pagan gods that were hell bent on eating people. For Dean, he wanted to make the most of what was more likely his last year on earth and after a little goading and persuasion on his part, Sam was in it too. Sam made the effort to spruce up their little motel for the Christmas season with a Charlie Brown tree and last minute decorations. The gift from his brother was good. Fuel for him and fuel for his baby and yet it just didn't seem complete.

Dean didn't have to look at Sam to know what it was that was missing. At that moment he wanted to curse her sensibility and that stupid comment she made about brothers needing to be brothers. It was a self-imposed exile that was what it was. It didn't help either that she said that she never really celebrated Christmas since it was always another day to her. That sounded dumb in that she had a thing for the strangest of holidays.

After they took care of the gods, she got a phone call. Then she mentioned something about a job that she needed to handle on her own. Both he and Sam put up a protest since she was sporting scratches and the shorn part of her lock looked ridiculous. She argued logic and in the end won after explaining that it was a personal matter and that it was something she had to do on her own. She left and it left a slight hole since she had grown on them both and Dean was certain that she had grown to like them better than friends.

Dean shifted in his seat slightly as the game was coming to a close, adjusting his feet. It was then that he noticed something on the coffee table that had become visible from under the wrapping that he and Sam used. At first he thought it was a scrap of paper like motel stationary. As he leaned to pick it up, he recognized the elaborate scrawl on it. "Sam, did Angie play that stupid quote game with you recently?"

Sam looked at Dean with a frown, "Not lately. Why?"

Dean held up the scrap of paper to show Sam what it was and then began reading, "Twas a night before Christmas in a room in Michigan Dwelt two brothers, finished with Solstice gods pagan…" He paused to look at his brother trying to see if Sam was up to something with her involved. He continued, "Sitting together with 'nog' and a game Simple but cheerful all the same."

Sam was still frowning but was puzzled. He took the scrap out of Dean's hand and looked at it. It was her writing and it looked fairly recent as if she were amusing herself while they had been trying to figure out what they were hunting. Yet it sounded like it was happening right then and there especially when he started reading, "Dean looked at Sam with a meaningful smile Both sharing a brotherly look not seen in a while. And a new snow falling bringing memories past As I watch with content outside hoping it will last."

Dean was miffed when Sam took the scrap out of his hand and he snatched it back after he read the second verse. He said, "I found it first."

"Jerk."

"Shut up bitch. This is good," Dean replied admitting it with a slight smile. He read the third verse, "When upon the door came a hesitant knock…"

At that moment a gentle and hesitant knock sounded on their room door. Dean looked at Sam since that was strange. Dean sprung up from the couch to see what it was after grabbing his Taurus. The scrap fell onto the couch. Sam picked it up and read where Dean left off, "Dean sprang from the couch to undo the lock. Sam stood up thinking 'what the hell' As he came to greet the one who'd rung the bell."

It was strange in that Sam found himself doing exactly what the poem was saying. It was rather strange and he wondered if something was up himself. It was instinct to think that as he joined Dean as he opened the door.

There was no one there at first except the snow that had been falling. Sam was still holding the scrap of paper and he couldn't help but look at it. It was too weird but it looked like it was something planned but how could she even predict their reactions to what was going to happen? He read the next verse while Dean was looking around, "Both could see snow dancing in the air As it danced onto their Winchester hair. When suddenly there should appear But a box hiding one snow covered dhampir."

As he finished the verse there was a rather large box and it was hiding someone. As it turned out it was Angela covered with a thin layer of snow and she advanced towards the boys. She couldn't see very well where she was going but they both helped her inside, box and all, which she set on the nearby table.

It was evident that there was food in the box and it was nice and hot. Angela shook the snow off and gave a slight smile as she watched the boy's reaction. She said, "The smell of food made Dean's mouth water Much to Sam's amused laughter. The sudden rush nearly sent to the sky A warm dish of delight and a thing called pie."

As it were Dean was already digging into the box that had food and he nearly dropped it when he saw the pie. He looked up to see Sam laughing but he also had a look of confusion on his face. He looked at Angela who had finished reciting her verse and grinning like a Cheshire cat. He asked, "So you finished whatever you needed to do?" He was trying to hide the fact that she had written something that was freakishly accurate.

Angela stood there in her wool coat, her cheeks rosy from exertion as she rubbed to warm her hands. The snow had melted to reveal she had been wearing a knit wool hat which she plucked off and tucked it in her pack. She gave a slight smile and said, "I've gone as truth would be told To a job that I'd brave this daring cold. And back again and now am here Hoping to share in some Christmas cheer."

Sam was still laughing at the whole thing. He had figured out that she was trying to make up for her trip to wherever she went. He was surprised that she had gotten back so quick but she did say that it wasn't too far from where they were. It was so like her and it was no wonder that he and Dean had a hard time getting the jump on her.

Dean was thinking something similar after resisting the urge to grumble about her rhymed response. He did have to admit that it was pretty good. He still didn't get how she would have predicted their responses like that but it was a moot point. She brought food and pie. She never forgot the pie. He smiled in return and replied, "Thanks Angie."

It was not much but it said a lot. Angela took off her satchel and hung it on the chair and had her coat off and dusted her hair. It was a nice Christmas dinner since it was not just fast food and it had both of the boys suspicious as to where she had been able to get home cooked food. Dean took a bite of the green bean casserole and asked, "What made you come back early?"

"I finished what I needed to do and…" Angela shrugged her shoulders as if to say that was the end of the conversation. "Just wanted to have a good night with you two," she finished. She took a bite of the serving she had for herself. "I brought dinner to fill up on to bring full stomachs instead of beer and egg nog."

Sam gave a slight smile as he took another bite. She was still rhyming her responses and it seemed to amuse her but he could see that she was rather puzzled that Dean asked her why she had come back sooner than expected. He replied, "It's good that you came. It wouldn't have been the same."

Dean scowled at Sam since he started responding the same way. However he noticed the smile appear on Angela's face and he knew that Sam did the right thing. Dean knew that she never bothered with things that often emphasized family and friends; she lived those days like any other and alone. He agreed, "Sam's right you know. It's hard to think of time before this without you in tow."

Angela couldn't help but laugh at Dean's attempt. At the time she started cleaning up everything from the dinner. She had left the pie on the table and said, "Such an interesting turn of phrase my dear Dean. Now here is a pie that I brought for you to glean. And to prove that we all care, have that delicious confection we all must share."

She left them at the table to go where she had placed that old satchel of hers and picked it up by the strap. She stood holding it in her hands as she dusted off the snow. There was a reason she took off when she did and yes it was a personal job.

She had stood silently observing the moment they arrived in Michigan and noticed the 'discussion' the boys had about Christmas and their memories. She was well aware of those times when they were alone. She had little idea that they had both been remembering the Christmas that Sam gave Dean his amulet. She remembered numerous Christmases she had spent and it was watching them from afar and could remember them all.

While they were working the case she made a couple of calls and took one. She hated to leave them when she took off those times but they reassured her they could handle it. She came and helped them and ended with a little blood drawn as well as a lock cut off that made her usual look lopsided. That didn't matter since she got what she had been pestering for and it was at the next town over she had to go and pick up.

"Standing there looking lost in the snow, the Christmas Dhampir deep in thought and we want to know."

Angela looked over to see both of them looking at her. Sam had started the verse and Dean picked it up to finish it, "Come on Angie, we're in suspense here. You planning on showing what's in that bag there?" Dean motioned with his hand to make a point as he gave a lopsided grin sitting there after licking a bit of the cream that he dabbed off with his finger.

Angela gave a smile and took a breath. "Well it's not much but it says a lot. So you get to see what Santa brought."

She opened her battered pack and checked to make sure that things were all right. She had gone great lengths to make sure that they arrived in one piece. That included the fact that on her way back she jumped into an icy cold river to save a kid who fell in. That was something she wasn't going tell them yet even though her pack looked worse for the wear now.

She pulled out the first one and made a relieved face. She held the silk wrapped package in both hands after she put the battered bag on the bed. She turned and smiled at Dean, "Per tradition the eldest is first and a good thing since Dean looks ready to burst. So let's go back in time and see all that black and shine."

She handed Dean his gift and clasped them in front of her. She watched as he undid the cloth ribbon with a raised brow. She explained, "Something nice out of old habit; a tradition learned from an old bat." When he finished opening it and she saw the look on Dean's face she continued, "You called me an eclectic but as you can see, my favorites included the classics like AC/DC."

Dean looked at the stack of vinyl that she had given him. The covers had use from them being used but the records were in very good condition. He looked at her and motioned at them a little speechless. He finally managed to spit out, "You got these?"

Angela was smiling as she went to the box that had the food in it. She really had to hand it to her ability to pack. She was glad that it had made it in one piece and sent a silent prayer to her contact for delivering. "Yes but there's more and this didn't come from any modern store," she said as she pulled out the vintage record player. "This came from land afar but not a scratch upon thar. So Merry Christmas Dean, my ever persistent bulldog." She put it on the table next to Dean and stepped away.

She was stopped when her hand was grabbed and she was pulled into a hug. She was used to Dean's words of thanks but he had never returned affection in the form of a hug. She smiled as he gave her a bear hug and played with her lips since she wasn't sure what to say or do. Finally when she felt she could breathe, she said, "I've been surprised over and over again and this is but a mere grain. Yet it brings warmth to my heart and glad to play my part."

Sam watched his brother grab Angela into a hug and the look on his face when she gave him his gift. They all knew that they couldn't keep it with them all the time they were one the road but it was from her. Sam suspected that the vinyl and the player were once hers. He could tell that they had been well cared for and he knew how she cared for things as if they were the last thing on the earth.

He was distracted when he turned to see her standing in front of him with another gift in her hands. She said, "So patient the youngest one is and waiting eagerly for that which is his." She held out a cloth wrapped package.

Sam took the proffered gift and looked at it. The last thing she had given was the shirt she had made for the tournament. She had wrapped it in the same manner. He wasn't one much for the aesthetic but he could admire how well she wrapped the gifts. It was a soft and good piece of silk; very expensive but he knew that she didn't think it too much on her end.

Seeing that Angela was waiting, Sam pulled on the end of the silk ribbon and undid the bow. He took no notice of Dean who was looking at the player and marveling at the brand new look it had. Instead he was paying attention to what his hands unraveled. His fingers brushed against soft, worn leather as he pushed the silk aside to reveal three books.

"Shakespeare dating from nineteen ten and a story dating from who knows when," Angela said with a slight shrug of her shoulders as if it didn't matter.

Sam examined the first two. One was a collection of Shakespeare and it was an edition from 1910. It wasn't the one she had read before. The other was a story that turned out to be the story of Hapi and Satet. There was a third one beneath the two. He pulled it out and looked at it.

It was leather bound and very battered, like it survived a couple of centuries or more. He opened it to find Angela's handwriting on the first page. He recognized it as a bit form Shakespeare. He turned the page to find something from George Washington to his troops and following that was a saying from a wedding speech from Tuscany. Sam noted that they were all cited and dated. He looked up at Angela with a raised brow.

"Just something from times gone past. Written so that they would last. Something for our fun little game and more sources for you to name," Angela replied. She gave a slight chewing of her lips. "A gift to join in the fun and enable you to keep up. I know it is mean but it is fun to annoy Dean," she added.

Sam had noticed the slight chewing of her lips. She was nervous about them liking their gifts. Sam realized that she had given something she had owned to them and she had chosen something she thought best fit. He looked at her and saw that she was watching for his reaction and he noticed that she was probably getting the impression he didn't like it.

The truth was Sam was rather surprised and touched. She didn't go out and buy gifts even though she could. She gave things that she knew they would appreciate even if they were once hers. He knew Dean didn't care of the records were secondhand and he didn't care that the books she gave were roughly a century old. He said, "Thanks Angie."

"You're welcome."

"No rhyme this time?" Sam gave a teasing smile.

Angela chuckled and Sam did. She replied, "Once in a while it is good to rhyme just as long as you find the right time." Her chuckle turned into a smile. "It was an on the fly plan but Merry Christmas all the same, Sam."

Sam gave a slight smile and for once ignoring the music that he heard in the car daily, he pulled Angela into a hug and, on an impulse, he gave her cheek a kiss. "Merry Christmas, Angie."

"And no mistletoe hung where you can see," Dean piped up when he noticed Sam give Angela a kiss.

"Eat me jerk."

"Man up bitch."

"I just might bring in a Christmas witch," Angela finished.

There was laughter all around since this was a good Christmas. Dean felt it was the best he had. He had his brother and then there was her. She was not blood but she was more than a friend. She was like family. She was sticking her neck out for him in order to try and fix his deal and she did little things that made life easier. Mostly it was the little stuff like laundry and she even reminded them which cards were up in terms of the scams.

He looked at Sam and they shared a look. They had nothing to give her in return. It seemed really cheesy to run down to the gas station and buy something. The things in there, aside from food, were more like what Sam got which were the skin mags aside from the more boring kind of mags. It seemed that they were to feel guilty.

Then, as if she knew what they were thinking, Angela said, "Don't worry about it, no big deal. I've gotten my gift that is very real. Being glad to be alive and here is the grandest gift to this old Chaser."

The reason was simple but very complete and Sam and Dean knew they had a special treat. The night was spent in company laughing at jokes that shouldn't have been funny. Even with a shadow looming above them all, they managed to dispel its gloomy call. Even without rhyme or reason, they wished each other well this Christmas season.

* * *

**A/N:** Merry Christmas folks! This was a little different but a nice play on the poem we all know and love at Christmastime. Some fluff and exactly how Sam got the little journal mentioned in Leap Year Fears. Enjoy!


End file.
